zondag 19 december 2010

Nevin Martell

I just finished reading this book about 'Calvin and Hobbes' creator Bill Watterson. The author, Nevin Martell, has tried to write a biography of the mysterious and reclusive Watterson, but the result is as much a personal story about looking for Watterson (which fails). I want to quote from one passage (from Chapter 9), because Martell describes very well the experience of looking at original comic art, just as I have felt it many times. Here we go:

'The strip is drawn on a small piece of slightly yellowed, heavy drawing paper. It's surprisingly insubstantial, but it hums with an inner life. The paper is dotted with cover-ups and faint pencil lines that once guided Watterson's hand. (...) The second strip is even more eye-opening, because I notice things I've never seen before (...). I've read his strip a hundred times, it's amazing what looking at it in person does to my appreciation and my understanding of its miniscule details.'